Watch Hank Azaria Give a Commencement Speech in the Voices of Simpsons Characters

Commencement speakers have one of the most thankless tasks in all of life, which is to provide high-minded advice to a group of hungover twentysomethings dressed in sweaty black robes who are already annoyed by their hovering parents. Having watched various graduation speeches on activism and world peace and economics, I think I can safely say that the winning theme for a commencement address isn't really a theme at all but instead a genre, and that genre is light comedy.

Okay, moving on to Exhibit B: Hank Azaria. The actor best known for voicing many of the supporting characters on The Simpsons spoke at Tufts University in suburban Boston on Sunday. (Obvious yet startling fact: The Simpsons had entered its sixth year of production in 1995, when most of the students who were in Azaria's audience at Tufts were likely born.)

Azaria, a 1985 graduate of Tufts, chose to close his remarks with a few bits in the voice of his favorite Simpsons characters.

For example, Chief Wiggum told students, "Kids, you didn't hear this from me, but if a cop even thinks that you're going to throw up in their back seat, they will immediately let you go. No crime is worth having to clean yak out of a seat-belt hole."

Apu, Moe the Bartender, and Comic Book Guy also weighed in, the latter noting that "Life is like the Star Wars movies. Some of it is great, some of it sucks, but you have no choice but to sit through all of it—very similar to the commencement speech you are listening to now."

Azaria then closed with a nice meditation on self-esteem, self-awareness, and how acting helped him discover his instincts, which led to a lifetime of interesting work. Check it out:

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